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CIR: Creators-in-Residence

CIR: Creators-in-Residence,Earthdance's year-round residency program, offers the beauty and solace of Western Massachusetts and the community-living atmosphere of Earthdance with focused time and space for creative research.

CIR is an opportunity for you to delve into the development of your work and share with the local community through a variety of formats. You can offer a weekly class to our residents and local community, a performance, give a talk, set-up a dialogue or discussion, or create your own way of engaging with the community that supports the development of your work.

Several cabins and other spaces ideal for installations, video/sound editing locations, and unconventional performance spaces

The great outdoors: more than 125 acres of meadow and forest for art-making and respite

A church and community center for site-specific work (through collaboration with a local congregation)

Vegetarian meals self-prepared by CIR or prepared by Earthdance staff, depending upon event schedule. (Meat available for purchase at a nearby co-op.)

A wood-stove sauna nestled in the woods

Lodging: dormitory or camping

We welcome creators and researchers of all types! Improvisers, musicians, dancers, poets, physicists, environmentalists, philosophers, ecologists, sociologists and all else are invited to invest in creative processes at Earthdance.

CIR residents live amongst our residential staff in a communal setting. There is ample time for interaction, as well as personal retreat and exploration. Depending on space/availability you are welcome to bring your full company, additional artist/collaborators, or to schedule other independent CIR residents to provide mutual support for your process.

For Creators-in-Residence (1-4 people), Earthdance provides 4 hours of studio (or other research/work space) each day, along with room & board. Additional time is often available during the week depending on the current calendar of events.

CIRs with 5-11 artists are considered Group CIRs (GCIR). Group CIRs receive 6 hours of studio time (for groups of 12 or more, please visit our Group Retreats page for more info).

Residencies range from 1-4 weeks and are co-created to meet the needs of each applicant. Creators In Residence are required to cook and clean for themselves (when there are no events) with food provided by Earthdance. Lodging (Dormitory or Camping) and hosting support are also provided.

Have another idea? We’re open to accommodating shorter or longer visits and creative structures that match your schedule and focus.

Visit the Visitor Information page on our website to learn more about Earthdance and the spaces available to you during your residency.

Participation of Creators-in-Residence:

Up to 3 hours of community engagement each week: Being at Earthdance is being in community; we ask that you take part in this collective home through cooking and light cleaning during your stay.

1 community offering: A public engagement that reveals something about your process and work during the residency (see above for details).

A report or relic from your time at Earthdance, along with some feedback to help to us continue to develop this program.

Creator-in-Residence Fees:

For Creators-in-Residence (1-4 people), the rate is $45/person/day in the Fall, Spring and Winter (September - May), and $50/person/day during the Summer (June - August). Discounted Rates for extended stays: 10% off for week-long residency; 20% for month-long residency.